The Pros of a Home-Based Business
If you, like me, run your small business from home, you might sometimes feel “less than” other companies that have offices, fluorescent lighting, and a meeting room. But don’t! There are plenty of benefits you offer your clients simply by being a home-based business.
1. You Cost Less
Your customers aren’t paying for that fancy espresso machine in the breakroom or, for that matter, your breakroom. Your overhead is next to nothing, except for the portion of your mortgage and utilities that covers the space you work in. So you can easily pass that savings along to your customers.
2. Customers Don’t Like Meeting at an Office
They’d much rather enjoy a triple espresso grande full fat mochacino at the local coffee shop. The added benefit to meeting offsite is that people tend to be more relaxed at a cafe or coffee shop than they are your office, so you have some valuable opportunity to really bond with your customers.
3. You’ll Work Harder and Longer
More than half of people who work from home work more than 40 hours a week. Chalk that up to it being a ridiculously short commute home, and the fact that it’s easier to work if your computer is right there (this can also be a drawback for you, but that’s another post).
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4. Your Network of Help Is Flexible
Many business owners who work from home employ the help of freelancers, such as designers, writers, and programmers, to help out when needed. So if you get a new project and need three new programmers, you can easily hire them, whereas if you employed full-timers, you’d be limited by what your existing staff could do. This means the sky is the limit for your clients. If they need it done, you can find the help.
Why Working from Home Rocks for You
Obviously it’s a bit easier and cheaper to run your business out of your home, and so many industries lend themselves to telecommuting, such as consulting, marketing, writing and designing. Not only will you cut down on expenses if you don’t have to pay monthly office rent, but you’ll also be able to grow your company faster. If your money isn’t tied up in those overhead costs, you can put it back into your company.
You’ll slash your monthly gas and auto maintenance bill as well as have a more flexible schedule. So if Sally needs you to pick her up after school and take her to ballet, you can do that and then get back to work. Or if you work best at midnight, you can work when inspiration hits, not when the office is open.
Susan Payton is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, an Internet marketing firm specializing in marketing communications, copywriting and blog posts. She’s also the founder of How to Create a Press Release, a free resource for business owners. She’s written three books: DIY Press Releases: Your Guide to Becoming Your Own PR Consultant, 101 Entrepreneur Tips and Internet Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs, and has blogged for several sites, including The Marketing Eggspert Blog, as well asCorpNet, Small Business Trends, Chamber of Commerce, and BizLaunch. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.